We college students feel so pressured to perform their absolute best in school because they are trying to prove to their parents, teachers, friends, (potential) employers, pastors, and Bible study leaders that we are brilliant, that we can stand strong and alone, and that we have what it takes to succeed, whatever that looks like for the individual. In front of our parents, we want to show that we are becoming mature adults and are no longer children. We perform for our teachers, trying to receive the best grades in order to graduate with the most prestigious degree so we can thus land the highest paying job. Before the people we meet in the church, we toss around the “Christian lingo” and put on the “happy Christian face”, trying to make them believe that we are stronger in our faith than we really are.
With this in mind, how do we say, “I live before the Audience of One. Before others I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose” (Guinness 77)? Performing for an Audience of One, I think, takes form in reckless abandonment to the Lord, or in other words, devoting every moment of my life to Jesus and sacrificing all my goals, plans, and dreams to the One who gave His life for mine. And sure, this all sounds good, but incorporating this mindset into daily life requires discipline. This is where the praying without ceasing enters. We must learn to quiet our minds and be still so we can hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. We will not achieve this overnight, but the more we practice letting go of ourselves and setting our hearts on Jesus, the more we will forget about the other audiences and truly begin to live only for our Lord.
I would like to close with two questions. First, what are some spiritual disciplines that help us to quiet our minds and hearts so we can hear God’s voice? Two, how did the idea of people pleasing originate?
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